[20] Perfection's Price
"Yo, that's gonna be some interesting footage for the class review," Camie chimed in from her bound position, still managing to sound entertained despite her capture.
I ran a hand through my dust-covered hair, trying to maintain my composed facade. "It was a tactical decision."
"Oh, totally tactical," Jane agreed, her grin widening. "I'm sure that's exactly how everyone will see it. Especially that part where-"
"The part where we successfully captured our opponents?" I cut her off.
Todo, still bound but somehow looking more excited than ever, practically vibrated with energy. "Such passion! Such chemistry! This only further proves that we're all destined to be-"
"If you say it one more time," I warned, "I'm going to ask Jane to use you as a tetherball."
"I'm down for that," Jane said cheerfully.
The intercom crackled to life again. "Young heroes, please make your way to the observation room for review!" All Might's voice carried a note of... was that amusement?
Great. Just great.
"We should probably untie them," I said, gesturing to our captured opponents.
Jane tilted her head, considering. "Should we though? Todo's a lot quieter when he's wrapped up."
"I heard that!" Todo called out, still grinning. "Your playful banter only confirms-"
"Tetherball it is," I muttered, but moved to help untie them anyway.
As we made our way through the debris-strewn corridor toward the observation room, I couldn't help but analyze our performance. The plan had worked - mostly - but there had been variables we hadn't accounted for. Todo's ability to swap people with each other instead of just objects had caught me off guard. I'd need to remember that for future reference.
"You're doing that thing again," Jane said, falling into step beside me.
"What thing?"
"That over-thinking, super-serious analysis thing." She poked my arm with her tail. "We won, you know. You can smile about it."
"I'm analyzing our performance," I corrected her. "There's always room for improvement."
"True," she agreed, then lowered her voice so only I could hear. "Like maybe next time we end up in compromising positions, we make sure the cameras are off first?"
I nearly tripped over a piece of debris.
"That was evil," I told her, regaining my balance.
She just laughed, the sound echoing off the walls. "Evil? Me? I'm hurt, Aki-boy. Here I thought we were partners in crime."
"Partners in heroics," I corrected automatically.
"Same difference," she said with a wink.
We reached the observation room door, and I could already hear the excited chatter from our classmates inside. I paused, hand on the handle, suddenly dreading the inevitable comments about our... tactical maneuver.
"Hey," Jane said, her voice surprisingly gentle. "Want me to create a distraction? I've got at least three smoke bombs left."
Despite myself, I felt a smile tugging at my lips. "No smoke bombs. We'll face the music like proper heroes-in-training."
"Boring," she sang, but her tail gave me a friendly pat on the shoulder. "But fine. Let's go face our adoring public."
I opened the door, and we stepped into chaos. Half the class immediately surrounded us, voices overlapping in excitement.
"That was amazing!"
"The way you guys moved-"
"Todo, bro, your quirk is insane!"
"Camie, those illusions were so cool!"
Tetsutetsu's voice rose above the others. "Yo, what was that move at the end? The one where-"
"Where we successfully captured our opponents through tactical coordination?" I interrupted smoothly.
"Is that what we're calling it?" Jane stage-whispered, earning several snickers from our classmates.
I shot her a look, but before I could respond, All Might cleared his throat. The class fell silent, turning to face our teacher.
"Young heroes," he began, his permanent smile somehow looking even more amused than usual, "that was quite the performance. Though perhaps next time we could focus more on capturing villains and less on..." he coughed, "tactical coordination?"
The class burst into laughter, and I resigned myself to the fact that this particular training exercise would not be forgotten anytime soon.
"Now then," All Might continued, "let's review the footage, shall we?"
I watched as the footage played, showing our battle from multiple angles. The class's reactions ranged from impressed whistles to barely contained laughter at certain moments. When it reached the... tactical coordination part, I kept my expression neutral, though I noticed Jane's tail twitching with amusement beside me.
"Well!" All Might's voice boomed as the screen faded to black. "That was certainly an enlightening display. Now, who would you say was the MVP of this match?"
"Jane!" Tetsutetsu shouted immediately. "Did you see how she moved? That's what I call manly fighting!"
"No way, it's gotta be Todo," Kaibara argued. "His quirk usage was on point, especially that last swap-"
"Are you kidding? Camie's illusions were the real game-changer-"
"But Akira's the one who actually came up with the winning strategy-"
The debate grew louder until a cold voice cut through the chaos.
"None of them deserve MVP."
The room fell silent as Rei Kazama stepped forward, his dark blue eyes scanning over our group with clinical precision.
"Todo," he began, "you telegraph your claps. Anyone with basic observational skills could predict your swaps. In a real fight, that hesitation gets you killed." His gaze shifted. "Camie, your illusions lack substance under pressure. You broke concentration three times during crucial moments."
Camie's usual easy smile faltered slightly.
"Jane," Rei continued, "you rely too heavily on acrobatics and showing off. Efficient movement would have ended this fight in half the time." He turned to me last. "And Akira... your 'strategy' was reactive, not proactive. You let them dictate the pace of the battle and scrambled to adapt instead of controlling the field."
"Yo, that's harsh," Camie said, but Rei wasn't finished.
"This isn't a game. We're not here to have fun or show off or..." his lip curled slightly, "create memorable moments for the cameras. We're here to become heroes. The villains out there won't care about your clever quips or flashy moves. They'll kill you, kill civilians, and move on to the next target."
I pushed off from the wall. "Interesting analysis. Wrong, but interesting."
"Really?" Rei's voice dripped with skepticism. "Please, enlighten us on how your performance demonstrated proper hero work."
"First," I held up a finger, "every decision I made was calculated. Including the ones you'd label as 'luck.' Second," another finger, "we adapted to changing circumstances and used our opponents' expectations against them. Third," I smiled, but there was no warmth in it, "we won."
"Victory means nothing if-"
"Victory means everything," I cut him off. "Because in real hero work, victory means lives saved. You can theorize all day about perfect scenarios and optimal strategies, but the reality is messier. Sometimes you have to work with what you have."
"That's exactly the kind of shortsighted thinking that gets heroes killed," Rei snapped. "We're not here to have fun. We're not here to show off. We're here to learn how to save lives, and if you can't take that seriously-"
"Oh, I take it very seriously." I stepped forward. "But unlike you, I don't confuse being serious with being perfect. Real heroism isn't about following some theoretical playbook. It's about making the best possible decisions in impossible situations."
"Guys," Jane tried to interject, but we both ignored her.
"Your brother would have known better," I said, and immediately knew I'd crossed a line.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop. Rei's eyes went cold, and for a moment, I thought he might actually throw a punch.
"Young Kazama, Young Sakamoto," All Might's voice carried a warning note. "Perhaps we should-"
"No," Rei said quietly. "Let him finish. I want to hear how someone who treats hero work like a game thinks he knows anything about my brother."
I opened my mouth to respond, but Jane's tail wrapped around my wrist. A warning. A reminder that some lines shouldn't be crossed, even in anger.
"You're right," I said instead, surprising everyone,. "I didn't know your brother. But I know this - if we spend all our time afraid of making mistakes, we'll never be ready when real disasters strike. Sometimes messy victories are better than perfect theories."
Rei stared at me for a long moment, then turned away. "We'll see who's right when it matters."
The tension in the room was thick enough to cut. All Might cleared his throat. "Well, young heroes, I think that's enough review for that group. Next group will be Rei Kazama and Yui Kodai going against Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu and Ibara Shiozaki."
"I'll take the villain role," Rei said, already heading for the door.
Yui Kodai glanced between us, her usually stoic expression betraying a hint of concern before she followed him out.
"Well," Jane said, breaking the awkward silence. "That was fun."
"Young heroes," All Might addressed the remaining students, "let's take a five-minute break before the next match. Use this time to hydrate and prepare yourselves."
The class dispersed into smaller groups, their hushed conversations not quite hiding the obvious topic of discussion. I stayed put, replaying the argument in my head. I'd gone too far mentioning his brother, but something about Rei's attitude rubbed me the wrong way.
"You're brooding," Jane noted, perching on a nearby desk.
"I'm thinking."
"Same thing." She swung her legs, tail swaying behind her. "Want to talk about it?"
I shook my head. "Nothing to talk about. He has his view of heroics, I have mine."
"And his brother?"
"Was a low blow," I admitted. "But his whole 'perfect hero' routine is going to get someone killed."
Camie, who'd been unusually quiet, joined us. "Yo, that's some heavy stuff. But like, maybe you're both right? And wrong?"
I raised an eyebrow at her.
"For real!" She held up her hands. "Like, he's got a point about being serious, yeah? But you're right about adapting and stuff. It's all about balance, fam."
"Since when are you the voice of reason?" I asked.
"I contain multitudes, Aki-boy," she grinned. "Plus, Todo won't stop talking about destiny and friendship, so I had to escape."
As if summoned by his name, Todo appeared beside us. "Speaking of destiny-"
"No," Jane and I said in unison.
"You didn't even let me finish!"
"We didn't need to," I told him. "Whatever you were going to say about destiny, friendship, or our fated bonds can wait until after class."
Todo crossed his arms. "My best friend would let me finish."
"Your best friend would probably throw you out a window," Jane muttered.
"Exactly!" Todo beamed. "See? You understand me perfectly!"
I caught myself almost smiling and quickly suppressed it. The next match would be interesting. Rei's analytical style versus Tetsutetsu's raw power, Yui's precision against Ibara's versatility. And after our argument...
"He's going to try to prove a point," I said, more to myself than the others.
"Obviously," Jane agreed. "Question is, will he overdo it trying to show you up, or will he play it perfectly just to rub it in?"
"Neither," Camie chimed in. "He's gonna, like, do both? Show off while being all technical and stuff."
"Want to bet on it?" Jane's eyes lit up.
"Not betting," I said firmly.
"Spoilsport."
"Young heroes!" All Might called out. "Please take your places for observation. Young Tetsutetsu, Young Shiozaki, are you ready?"
"Yes, sir!" they replied in unison.
"Very well. Young Kazama and Young Kodai are in position. Remember, this is a standard heroes versus villains exercise. Villains must protect their objective, heroes must either capture the villains or secure the objective. You have fifteen minutes." All Might's permanent smile somehow looked concerned. "And please, remember this is a training exercise."
"Of course, sensei," Ibara said solemnly. "We shall endeavor to conduct ourselves with appropriate restraint."
Tetsutetsu punched his palm. "Yeah! A manly battle with proper respect!"
They headed out, and the screens lit up showing various angles of the building. Rei and Yui had positioned themselves on the top floor, the objective - a simple metal briefcase - placed in the corner.
"Interesting," I murmured, studying their setup.
"What's interesting?" Todo asked.
"They're not fortifying the room." I pointed to the screens. "No barricades, no traps. They're keeping it open."
"Maybe they ran out of time?" Camie suggested.
I shook my head. "No. This is deliberate. Rei's making a point."
"BEGIN!" All Might's voice boomed through the speakers.
Tetsutetsu and Ibara entered the building cautiously, her vines spreading out to scout ahead. They made it through the first floor without incident.
"Too easy," Jane commented. "They're letting them come up."
She was right. Floor after floor, no resistance. By the time they reached the final stairwell, even Tetsutetsu looked suspicious.
"This doesn't feel very manly," his voice came through the monitors. "Where's the fighting spirit?"
"Perhaps they seek to challenge us in a different way," Ibara suggested. "We must remain vigilant."
They emerged onto the top floor. Rei and Yui stood calmly in the center of the room, the briefcase behind them.
"Welcome," Rei said, his voice carrying clearly through the speakers. "Let's see what proper hero work looks like."
I leaned forward, watching the screens intently. Something about Rei's stance bothered me - too relaxed, too confident.
"It's a trap," I muttered.
"Obviously," Jane said beside me. "Question is: what kind?"
We got our answer immediately. The moment Tetsutetsu stepped forward, Yui touched the floor. The tiles beneath the hero team's feet expanded rapidly, throwing them off balance.
"Left side," he called out calmly. Yui's hand brushed a small marble, which grew into a barrier, cutting off Ibara's vines.
"Tch." I crossed my arms. "He's controlling the entire flow."
Tetsutetsu activated his steel form and charged forward. "A real man faces his opponents head-on!"
"Poor choice," Rei said. He stood perfectly still as Yui touched another pre-prepared object. A steel cable, previously shrunk to thread-size, expanded and wrapped around Tetsutetsu's legs. His momentum carried him forward, face-first into the ground.
"Tetsutetsu!" Ibara sent her vines around the barrier, but Rei had already anticipated this.
"Now," he commanded. Yui touched something and several panels expanded downward, tangling with Ibara's vines. The sudden weight threw her off balance.
"They prepared the entire room," Todo observed, unusually serious. "Every surface, every object..."
"Maximum efficiency," I said, the words tasting bitter. "No wasted movement."
On screen, Tetsutetsu struggled to his feet, only for Yui to expand another cable around his torso. Ibara tried to assist, but her vines were hopelessly entangled in the ceiling panels.
"You rely too much on brute force," Rei told Tetsutetsu. "Against a prepared opponent, that's suicide." He turned to Ibara. "And you telegraph your vine movements. In a real fight, that hesitation would cost lives."
"We're not done yet!" Tetsutetsu strained against the cables. "A real hero never gives up!"
"No," Rei agreed. "But a real hero also knows when they're beaten." He nodded to Yui, who touched one final object.
A massive net, previously shrunk to the size of a handkerchief, expanded over both heroes. The weight, combined with their already compromised positions, brought them down hard.
"Heroes captured," All Might announced. "Villains win."
The class fell silent. The entire fight had lasted less than two minutes.
"Well," Camie said, "that was like, super intense."
I said nothing, studying the replay screens. Every move had been calculated, every counter prepared. Rei and Yui had turned the room itself into a weapon, and they'd done it without any obvious preparations. Which meant...
"They memorized the exact positions and timing for every object," I said. "That's why they didn't fortify the room - it was already set up."
"Young Kazama, Young Kodai," All Might's voice carried through the speakers. "Please escort your captured opponents back to the observation room."
Minutes later, they returned. Tetsutetsu looked frustrated but respectful, while Ibara maintained her usual serene expression despite the defeat. Rei and Yui entered last, neither showing any sign of exertion.
"Now then," All Might began, "let's discuss-"
"That wasn't a fight," I interrupted. "It was a demonstration."
Rei met my gaze. "Yes. It was. That's what proper hero work looks like - preparation, precision, and perfect execution."
"In a controlled environment with time to prepare," I countered. "Real villains won't give you that luxury."
"Which is why we train to handle any situation perfectly." His voice remained steady, but I caught the edge beneath it. "No showing off. No unnecessary risks. Just clean, efficient victory."
"You sound like a robot," Jane said. "Heroes aren't machines, they're people."
"People die." Rei's words cut through the room. "My brother was people. He took risks, made split-second decisions, trusted his instincts. Want to know where that got him?"
The room went dead silent. Even All Might seemed unsure how to respond.
"Young Kazama," he finally said, "while your performance was indeed impressive, perhaps we should-"
"No." Rei's voice was ice. "They need to hear this. You want to play at being heroes? Fine. But remember - out there, mistakes get people killed. Your clever quips won't save civilians. Your flashy moves won't stop villains. The only thing that matters is perfect execution, every time."
I studied him for a moment, then asked quietly, "And if perfect isn't an option?"
"It's always an option." He turned away. "You just have to be willing to put in the work."